Aren't we all Michigan fans?

I always thought I was one of the biggest Michigan fans around.  I've gone to the games since I was a kid, always staying until the very end, rain or shine, win or lose.  I graduated from U-M.  I travel to as many away games as I can.  I own more Michigan paraphernalia than one really should past the age of 14.

I can recall the score of games from 10+ years ago more easily than some family birthdays (not yours, honey).  I can tell you the numbers of various Michigan players throughout my lifetime yet I sometimes need to check my address book for an oft-dialed phone number (not yours, honey).  I remember sitting in the Rose Bowl watching Michigan win the National Championship in '98 the way my parents remember sitting in their living room watching man first walking on the moon in '69.

I still ache when I think about the Kordell Stewart pass in '94, still can't believe Charles Woodson's INT against Michigan State in '97 and still get chills when I watch that video clip of Bob Ufer making the Indiana call in '79, even though I've probably seen it a thousand times by now.

And, as some of you may have noticed, I spend way too many hours blogging daily about the school, team and sport I love passionately.

Yet apparently I'm a "hater."

Who knew.

You see, since I returned to blogging I had the audacity, the unmitigated gall*, to question whether or not Rich Rodriguez is the right man to continue leading the Wolverines.  I had the nerve to state that I don't think he's done a great job at the helm thus far.  For that, my Maize and Blue worthiness has been called into question.

And I'm not alone. 

On message boards and websites, in comment sections and via email, fellow Wolverine fans are being labeled "haters" for disagreeing with those who think unyielding, unquestioned support for Rich Rodriguez is the only one true measure of Michigan-ness.

Well, I call bullshit.

Wolverine fans should be able to express their opinion - no matter which side of the current debate they fall on - without their Michigan bona fides doubted.  Furthermore, the Rich Rod at All Costs Camp doesn't hold any Michigan Moral High Ground.  As much as the righteous indignation would like you to believe it, that "side" isn't more pro-Michigan, its passion not more Maize and Blue.

If that were true, I guess former players like Steve Breaston, Jay Feely, Desmond Howard, Gabe Watson and Alan Branch among others must all be "haters."

Double Bullshit.

Look, people can have different points of view and - wait for it - still be huge Michigan fans who love their school and team.  Regular MZone reader SiC and I disagree passionately about this topic.  But I don't doubt for a second that he bleeds Maize and Blue, nor do I think he doubts my love of all things Michigan.

So let's town down the rhetoric, huh?

Plus, "hater" is so unoriginal.  Seriously.  It's the college football name calling equiv of the Hitler meme and "Stay Classy" all rolled into one.

Thus, can't we simply agree to disagree?  To agree that men of good conscience can love their team and school but still have a different opinion on what the best course of action is to achieving the same goal of getting Michigan back to the top?

I mean, just because I or somebody else isn't happy with Rodriguez, it doesn't mean we're "haters" who don't bleed Maize and Blue through and through.

In the same way, just because someone supports Rich Rodriguez, it doesn't mean they're stupid sunshine-pumping Kool-Aid drinking douchebagging assclowns.

Can't we all get along?

* Would a "hater" really know this quote and where it came from?